I think I became a better grown up this morning.
As I was walking from the parking lot to the building I work
(about 6 blocks away), I noticed a little girl walking by herself. She seemed to be okay but I thought she was
too young to be walking the distance and crossing the busy streets by
herself. I slowed down to stay within
ear shot of her and I guess to protect her from anyone that might be looking to
kidnap a cute little girl this morning.
I noticed her uniform and that she was mumbling something about a bus. When we got to the corner just across the
street from my building, I asked her, “What school are you going to?” I already knew the answer. She was a student at the elementary school
nearby where my brother is the Assistant Principal. She was shocked when I told her that I was
the Assistant Principal’s sister, showed her my badge and offered to walk her
to school. “You kind of look like [him].” She told me that she was supposed to be
there by 8:30 but the bus hadn’t come yet and she didn’t want to get in trouble
for being late. As we walked, I taught
her the rules of walking on the sidewalk . . . always let a grown up walk on
the outside near the street and if you’re walking with a boy, make him walk on
the outside. She asked, “What if it’s a field
trip and we have partners?’ Smart kid . . . “take turns walking on the outside
to protect each other,” I responded. LOL,
that’s the best I could come up with
She asked where I worked.
My answer sparked her interest. “You
must have done really well in school!”
“I did, but there was one year that I messed up bad but I
made it up.”
She told me how she had to repeat a grade this year. I told her that it was okay as long as she
learned what she missed and did her best not to do it again. She agreed.
I happened to turn around and see the bus she had been
waiting for getting ready to stop. I
asked if she wanted to get on the bus and she excitedly ran for it but didn’t
forget to say, “Thank you!” A gentleman
getting off the bus said, “Oh, she’s really excited about school?” I explained to him how she and I met and he
thanked me for being a good citizen.
Walking back to my building, I felt great. I smiled at everyone and said good morning to
everyone walking through the ‘hood and back into the sea of buildings. When I was her age, my school was four blocks
from my house, through the neighborhood where other children were also walking
and friendly neighbors stepped out the doors to watch us. This child was crossing busy streets,
including a major city thoroughfare, with cars whizzing by and walkers rushing
to get to their badge entry only offices.
She even asked me if I was going to be late for work. I told her it was okay, that I would make a
call but it was more important to make sure she got to school safely. Saying the words aloud confirmed that I was
making the right decision, to walk her to school even at the expense of a reprimand
for being late to work. She was more
important than clocking in.
I hope she felt imporant this morning. I hope that my presence didn't scare her but maybe let her know that her safety and well-being was important to someone this morning. I actually hesitated this morning before I asked engaged her but I’m
glad I did. I texted my brother and told
him what I had done and her first name and grade. He knew all of her information from the top
of his head. I call him Joe Clark, like the principal from "Lean on Me." I thought myself, "What is more imporant than protecting our children?" If you are a responsible adult and grown up, the answer should be nothing.
